Edge of Darkness (TV series): Difference between revisions

{{quote| '''Emma Craven: '''Millions of years ago when the Earth was cold, it looked like life on the planet would cease to exist. But black flowers began to grow, multiplying across the landscape until the entire surface was covered in blooms. Slowly, the blackness of the flowers sucked in the heat of the sun and life began to evolve again. That is the power of Gaia. The planet will protect itself. If man is the enemy, it will destroy him. }}

 

 

 

Ronald "Ronnie" Craven is a Detective Inspector in the Police Force; he was decorated for bravery in the line of duty during his time in [[The Troubles|Northern Ireland]]. His wife died of cancer, roughly a decade ago, since when he has brought his daughter Emma up single handed. As the story opens, she has grown up to be a politically radical student, who seems to be the only remaining person on the face of the planet who can make him smile. Ronnie drives her home from a political meeting -- trying to keep her out of the [[Empathic Environment|rain]], which has become [[A Storm Is Coming|absurdly and suspiciously heavy]] -- whereupon she is shot dead by a balaclava-clad thug wielding a sawn-off shotgun. Later, a grieving Ronnie is going through Emma's belongings; he finds [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|a loaded gun, a geiger counter, her vibrator, and her old teddy-bear]].

Craven encounters, on his travels, the bullish, beaming CIA agent [[Large Ham|Darius Jedburgh]], two [[Affably Evil|extremely affable]] men who might - or might not - work for British Intelligence, a host of other twilight figures who [[Black and Grey Morality|might be good or bad or both or neither]], and - frequently - Emma herself. Emma's post-mortem appearances are not explained; she could be symbolic of his obsession, a useful stalking horse to let the writers exteriorise Craven's inner dialogue, an on-screen symptom of Craven's mental breakdown, or an actual ghost. The series doesn't ever commit to any of those, although there are elements of mysticism in the rest of the story that mean that even the ghostly explanation - ordinarily unlikely in the context of a deathly serious modern thriller - cannot be dismissed out of hand. Indeed, as written, the original ending featured Craven turning into a tree. Thankfully, the production team were willing to tell even Troy Kennedy Martin to think again.

 

----

=== Some of the following tropes may have been identified wandering the rain-swept hills above the Northmoor facility: ===

* [[Eagle Land]] -- Flavor 2 heavily leaned on - Jedburgh returns to London from a mission in El Salvador, dressed in camo gear, with the aforementioned golf bag. "I had to leave a man behind". He also refers to the UK as "The Third World" and that [[Big Bad|Grogan]] is "stirring up the natives".

* [[The Eighties]] -- And how!

* [[Gaia's Vengeance]] -- the "proper" variety. Possibly.

* [[Hey, It's That Guy!]] -- Ronnie Craven (played by Bob Peck) aka [[Jurassic Park|Muldoon]]. Other characters are played by actors who you may recognise from ''[[Dune]]'', ''[[Sharpe]]'', ''Gormenghast'' and ''[[Blake's Seven|Blakes Seven]]''.